Composite sole.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. BOSTOCK, 0E PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 WILLIAMS-KNE'ELAND COMPANY, OF BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

COMPOSITE SOLE.

Application filed sebru r as, i914. Serial No. 820,853.

certain new and useful Improvements in- Gomposite Soles, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to a sole for boots and shoes having all,the desirablefeatures of a rubber sole with none of the defects of arubber sole, and one which can be produced with a saving in cost. Thesole which I have produced as the result of .the present'invention isintended to be incorporated in a shoe of any construction or character.I

All the advantages and desirable features inherent in a rubber soleapplied to a shoe which has also a heel, reside entirely in the treadportion of the sole, that is, the portion which comes in contact withthe ground when the. shoe is worn. The rubber shank and heel portions ofa sole which is made entirely of rubber have 'no advantages or specialutility and add nothing to the prac- V tical valueor desirable-qualitiesof the shoe. On the contrary the shank part of an all} rubber sole is apositive detriment, because it is liable to chip on the edges and to becut by the stitches or other attaching means employed to fasten it tothe shoe. In practice all-rubber soles are usually made thinner at theshank than at the tread part in order to} save material and reduce thecost of the sole, because the wear on the shank part is inappreciable ascompared with the wear on the tread part under ordinary conditions ofuse of-the shoe. This practice of making the shank thinner than thetread is a source of trouble to the shoe manufacturer on acerations, andin the manufacture of such shoes the percentage of shoes spoiled ordamaged (such shoes being technically known as cripples) from this causeis large. L My invention has for its object to produce a sole possessingall the desirable qualities and free from all the objectionable featuresof the all-rubber sole, and one which may be produced at a cost lessthan the cost of production. of the all-rubber sole.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 0V. 30, 1915. i

. Briefly stated my invention consists in a sole of which the treadportion is entirely of rubber or rubber-romposition', and the shank orrearfpart is of a diflerent 'material having greater strength andtoughness.

than the rubber and being also less expensive.

In 'the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a shoeof-whichthe sole embodies my invention. Fig- 2 is a plan view of ashoesole embodying my invention. F g. 31 side elevation of the soleshown in Fig. 2. Fig. l is a detailed sectional'view on an enlargedscale of the joint or connection between the two parts of the sole111115:

trated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Figs. 5 and 6 are -A sole-made according tomy invention consists of at least two pieces, although it may be made ofmore than two if desired.

parture from the invention to make the heel views similar to Fig. 4showing other forms of connection bet-ween the two parts of the soleFig.7 isa 'view-illustrating my inven-; tion applied to a half sole ortap.

i The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all thefigures.

part as a piece separate from the shank'part or to have the reartermination of the sole terial, suitable for resilient antifrictionsoles. I will state that the term rubber as rised in this descriptionand in the fol-' lowing claims is used with its popular meaning asincluding any material composed wholly or in part of rubber gum orcaout-- chouc, or any equivalent material having qualities similar tothose of rubber, of elasticity and resilience and high coeflicient of.

friction, whichare or may be suitable for mak ng shoe soles. The rearpart or shank portion?) 1s made of a different material indicated. Animportant feature of the sole is that limit the invention further thanas above the rubber tread portion extends entirely across the sole fromedge to edgeand it eX-;

tends in a forward and'rearward direction to the extreme limits ofthatportion-of the sole which comes in contact with the ground in use. Therubber and leather portion's are connected by a joint 0 1extendingtransversely of the sole at a point, which,.when the sole, isshapedand applied to a shoe, is

raised above the ground level. That is,-the joint 0 is in rear of andabove the areaof contact of the sole with the ground, sothat it is notsubject to wear anddoes notlessen the elasticity and resistance of thetread.

The joint between the rubber and leather portions of the sole may bemade in various I ways, three of which. are illustrated in the respectsthe is molded with a drawings. In Figs. -1 to 4: the rubber piece groovein its rear edgeand the leather piece is out to form atongue d betweenshoulders e,

the rubber part. I cemented before theftongue is thus inserted and afterinsertion the parts are stitched together, the stitches of the seambeing shown at f." Any character of stitching may be employed. Y

Another form of joint is shown in Fig. 5,

---Where the parts are scarfed or molded to forma lip h on the rubberpart which overlies a lip 2' on the leather. The overlapping lips arecemented and stitched together as before. "Fig. 6 shows a reversal ofthe joint shown in Fig. 4, in this case the rubber part having a tongueis entering a groove between lips 01 and d of the leather part. In somejoint last described is preferable to the others in that the rubbertongue vent. the stitches of the securing is protected bytwo leatherlips which preseam, from cutting the rubber. The joint shown inFi 4 is,however, .simpler to produce, since it is easier to skive the leather toform a, cen-- tral tongue dthan to groove leather and make two tongues dand 01 while it, is equally as easy to mold rubber witir a recessedgroove as with a projecting tongue.

It will be noted that all forms of the joint illustrated are formed byoverlapping lips on the rubber and leather parts respectively,

lips is preferably so recessed or shoulderedportion *as: being withoutintending thereby to sole to the shoe,

the tongue being of, such proportions as to fit in the groove ofPreferably the parts are .hand Work or taking any 6 and difiers only inone on the leather, the second having one lip on each, and thethirdhaving one 'lip on the rubber piece and two lips on the leather piece.The materialadjacent the or scarfed to their thin edges that the piecesare matched together with their correspondfing; surfaces-inapproximately, the same planes. i .l'havepreviously referred to the factthat an all-rubber sole is liable to become chipped and to break away atthe shank of the-shoe to which it is attached. Asole made in 'accordancewith my invention is free from this defect, since the leather shan k' istougher ..-andi stroi ger than rubber,

is not cut b'yjthe stitchesor other devices and does'not chip orcrumblenThe use of leather has the further advantages that it makes the solelighter, which is a great. reduces the cost of the sole, being.less;;ex-' pensive than rubber. As thereis-no appreciable wear or strainon the shank part of the sole, the leather used; may be of the cheapergrades. Even inferior leather is not liable to be cut and chipped in theproc esses of shoe manufacture. Thus the cost of making shoes equippedwith my solesis diminished, not only on-account of the-small whichsecure: the

advantage, 1 and .portionof cripples is less.

A sole made in accordance with my in vention' they be applied to a shoeby any of thecoi'nmon methods. To a shoe so made a heel Z. may befastened in the usual man: ner. There is no necessity for employingspecial care in at; taching my composite sole to a shoe, as there I. isin the case of,.an all-rubber.sole.-

The invention may also be incorporated in a half sole, or tap, whichmaybe used in repairing partially Worn out shoes onfor providing anoutside rubber tap on a leather. shoe. This half sole is essentially thesame as the complete sole illustrated in'Figs. 1 to that. the shankportion 7 is shortened 'to a length merely sufiicient to secure thenails or other attaching means which will be used in securing the shankend of the tap. to the shoe. Such a vrubber. half sole may be employedin repairing a. shoe when the rubbertread ofthe sole has become Wornout, and it may also be applied to a shoe which when first manufacturedhad a sole entirely of leather, for the purpose of providingsuch a shoewith an outside rubber tap. With 'rubber'soled shoes as heretoforemanufactured the method of repairing when "the tread part of the sole isworn out is to strip off the entire sole and.

substitute an entire new rubber sole which has ashank part as well as atread part, resulting in waste of the rubber which shoe. My improved tapsole can be stitched] around its edges'to the welt or the edge of theold .sole and at the shank end can be secured by tacksor nails driventhrough the leather strip and clenched in the inner sole.

The tap canbe thus applied as well to an all-leather shoe as to onewhich was manufactured with a whole rubber sole.

The entire sole illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6 and the half soleillustrated in Fig. 7 are .alike in this, that each has a .forepart ortread portion of rubber and a shank portion of leather or other materialwhich is stronger and tougher than rubber. The term shank portion asused in this specification and in the following claims is intended todescribe not only a part of the sole long enough to underlie the entireshank and heel of the shoe, but also a strip as short as the leatherstrip shown in Fig. 7 which is attached to the rubber at the shank endof the half sole.

One of the most important features of the sole made as above describedis that the entire tread portion is of rubber and extends across thefull width of-the sole, so that no-' where does leather form any part ofthe tread surface. attempts have been made to attach rubber taps toshoes by binders or strips of leather overlying portions of the rubbertap. In

all such prior attempts the leather binders occupy part of the treadportion of the sole, A and come into contact with the ground at I '40the same time that the rubber does, thus limiting and more or lessdestroying the desired resilient and anti-slipping characteristics ofthe sole.

penetrable'to permit of being penetrated by the needle of a sewingmachine. Thus my sole, whether made as the entire sole, or as a tap solefor repair work, may be stitched to,

a Goodyear shoe and the extremities of the non-metallic shank portionmay be penetrated by the needle of the sewing machine and held close upagainst the welt or the upper of the shoe by the same line of stitcheswhich passes along the edge portion of the I am aware that heretoforerubber. tread'for the latter'to the stituting the shank'portion ofthesole. It

will be noted also that in each illustrated embodiment of the inventionthe shank portion of the composite sole is attached to the rubber partof the sole one line which is in rear of the part thereof which issubjected to wear. It is also to be noted that each of thematerialsheretofore named from which the shank part of the composite sole-may beproduced, is. of a fibrous nature which is capable of being'securely andpermanently united to the rubber composition of which thefore partof'thesole ism ade by vulcanization. 1

What I claim and desire to ters Patent is H y a .1. A composite solehaving a tread portion of rubber the tread surface of; which extends'fromedge to edge of the sole, and a shank portion of a non-metallicmaterial stronger andtougher than rubber connected directly to the*rubber.

2. A composite sole having a tread po r l secure by Lettion of rubberthe tread surface of which extends from edge to edge of the sole, and af shank portion of. a non-metallic material stronger and tougher thanrubb.er, said portions'being lapped and joined directly tostronger andtougher than rubber, said por tions being directly connected together bya transverse seam.

shank portion of a non-metallic material 4. A composite sole having atread pore tion of rubber extending from edge to edge,

and a shank portion of anon-metallic material stronger and tougher thanrubber, said portions being scarfed to provide overlapping lips', andthe lip of one portion being lapped over the lip of the other portionand stitched directly thereto.

5. Acomposite sole having a tread portion of rubber extending from edgeto edge,

and a shank portion of a non-metallic ,material stronger and tougherthan rubber, said portions being scarfed to provide overlaplapped overthe lip of the other cemented directly thereto.

6. A composite sole having a tread porportion and tion of rubberextending from edge to edge,

and a shank portion of a non-metallic material stronger and tougher thanrubber, said portions being scarfed to provide overlapping lips, and thelip of one portion be ing lapped over the lip of the other portion andunited directly thereto by adhesive and stitches.

ping lips, and the lip of one portion being &

7. A composite sole comprising a. tread portion composed entirely ofrubber composition, and a shank portion of leather joined 9. A compositesole comprisinga rubbertread portion and a leather shank portion, j saidportionshaving lips matched togetherv and overlapping and beingstitcheddirectly together, the joint between said parts extending fromedge to edge of the soleat a point back of any part of the sole whichcomes in contact with the ground when the sole is applied to a shoe. 10.A soleconsisting of a tread piece of rubber composition extending thefullwidth of the sole and towardthe shankbeyond the portion which issubjected to wear, .and a piece of flexible material having greatertoughness than the rubber composition, and 'sufiiciently soft to permitready penetration by a needle attached directly tothe shank end of suchcomposition piece.

"11. A sole consisting of a tread portion of rubber composition and ashank portion of a; non-metallic flexible material having' greatercohesive strength than the rubber composition and beingof a fibrouscharacter sultable for union by vulcanization to the rubber composition,such shank extending 'across the entire,width of the tread portion andbeing firmly united thereto at the shank end thereon-and the rubbercomposition of which the thread portion is-made continuing throughoutthe entire width of the sole.

12.-A two part outer sole for shoes the fore part of'which is of rubberand the rear part of leather, said rear part substantially spanning theshank of the sole longitudinally thereof and the two parts beingpertogether on a line which exfmanently and rigidly secured..together attheir juncture. I

13. A two part outer sole for shoes the fore part of which is of rubberand the rear part of leather, said rear partv substantially spanning theshank ofthe sole longitudinally thereof and the two parts having alapped joint and being permanently and "rigidly secured together attheir juncture.

14. A- two part outer sole for shoes the fore part of which is of rubberand the rear part of leather, saidrear part substantially spanning theshank of the sole longitudinally joint wherein the-rear part is ontheoutside thereof and the two parts having alapped and being permanentlyand rigidly secured together at their juncture by stitching.

- 1,5. A shoe comprising .a two part outer sole the fore part of whichis of rubber and the rear part of leather, said rear part sub.-

-'stantially spanning the shank of the shoe.

longitudinally thereof and the two parts being permanently and rigidlysecured together' at their juncture.

16. A shoe comprising a two part outer sole the forepart of which is of'rubber and the rear part'of leather, said rear part substantiallyspanning the shank" of the shoe longitudinally thereof and the two partshaving a lapped joint and beingpermarigidly secured together at theirnently and uncture.

17.- A shoe comprising a, two part outersole the fore part of which isof rubber and the rear part of leather, said rear part substantiallyspanning the shank of the shoe longitudinally thereof and the two partshaving a lapped joint wherein the rear part is onthe outside and beingpermanently and rigidly secured together at their juncture bystitching."

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of twowitnessesa WILLIAM F. BOSTOOK.

Witnesses:

ARTHoR H. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

- Washington, D. C.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 1,162,445.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,162,445, grantedNovember 30, 1915, upon the application of William F. Bostoek, ofProvidence, Rhode Island,

for an improvement in Composite Solesfien. error appears in the printedspecification 'reqiiiring correction as follows: Page '4, line 42, claim11, for the word thread read tread; and that the said Letters Patentshould be readwith this correction therein that the 'saine may" conformto the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 18th day of January, A. 1)., 1916.

i J. T. NEWTON,

Acting Uommissioner of Patents.

[SEAL] Cl. Sti -31.

